Time for Snails yet?

[MyMonkey]

I have been running my 58 Gal now for about a month. Has some algae building up on the walls and other surfaces. Rather brownish looking stuff that comes off with the magneato[sic?] thing. I asked the LFS about purchasing some Snails and they recommended waiting, in order to not starve the snails to death. However, this algea seems to be enough to feed at least a few snails. If that seems ok, then what is my best bet for snails to control algae? I have a few bumblebee snails but they are very small and rarely seen. Any suggestions? 8)


BTW: Parameters as of today are: pH 8.4, Nitrate, between 0 and 5.0 ppm (hate the color code thing), Amonia 0 (finally), Nitrite 0 ppm.

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

Do a 20% water change and test again in a day or two, if the nitrate number has lowered, go for some snails.

 

[MyMonkey]

Thanks. Love this forum.

 

[mike90]

might want to look into some hermits too. they will sift through the sand and eat off of rocks etc. even if the die off due to lack of food, you've only lost about $1 to $2 per hermit.

 

[MyMonkey]

Thanks for the input. I actually have 4 Clibanarius vittatus Hermit Crabs. However, they were wild caught and are very large. They eat constantly. They apparently won't eat my fish but they are large enough that they rough up my Zooanthid/polyps when wandering about. Not sure about keeping them. If I had a sump, I would put them in there. I like the blue legged hermits though.